heatshrink gun?

Alloneword · 29 May 2013 at 20:23

I have just bought some heat shrink for power leads etc, can anyone suggest what is the best kind of "gun" to use to shrink this stuff, i have seen on eBay one that are powered by a cigarette lighter or others with butane gas but unsure what is the best type to you any and all advice is welcome.

All1

DampDog · 29 May 2013 at 20:32

Steal the hair dryer off the Mrs.

Other than that, something that runs off mains and has adjustable heat settings.

Makhaira · 29 May 2013 at 20:37

A cheap hot air gun will do fine. £10 from your local electronics or hardware place.

Savage_Smithy · 29 May 2013 at 20:53

heat shrink just does exactly what it says on the tin, any heat will do it, if you would rather not buy a heatgun or don't have a hairdryer just use a candle or a lighter or something, don't pass it through the flame but just over it so the heat can shrink the tubing.

Schizo · 29 May 2013 at 20:54

A simple lighter will suffice,just don't put it to close.

Alloneword · 29 May 2013 at 20:57

And (I know poor English) I was thinking of buying one of those silly little things on eBay for £20, in that case i'll nick the Mrs hairdryer given i have a skinhead i don't need one

Thanks folks.

All1

Frozennova · 29 May 2013 at 20:58

You need to note that using a lighter may blacken the heat shrink a little if you aren't using black heat shrink.

Alloneword · 29 May 2013 at 23:20

ManLoveRulesOK said:
You need to note that using a lighter may blacken the heat shrink a little if you aren't using black heat shrink.

Love the username, yes it is black so it should be ok but thanks for the heads up.

All1

wp-t31os · 30 May 2013 at 08:26

Was actually looking at heat(/hot air) gun prices myself yesterday because i'll be doing some braiding myself soon.

Check Wickes and Homebase, they both do lower end heatguns and you should be able to find one with a reducer attachment for pretty cheap(reducer will direct the heat through a smaller nozzle, so you don't end up putting heat over too large an area - you specifically want heat in a smaller area if you're heatshrinking). Bear in mind a lot of them will come without any attachments and often charge a fair bit to buy them seperately(so check the product description on items you're looking at, ideal if you can get a reducer/spot nozzle included).

£10 - £20 if you shop around and you should be able to pick one up in either of the above mentioned stores(not competitors, they don't sell PC hardware), or somewhere local(no need to have anything delivered, that's more cost).

I've tried the lighter route before, it's not fun and it's far to easy to mess up or blacken the heatshrink(told myself last time, never again until i have a heatgun).

ZXSpectrum · 30 May 2013 at 10:53

If you want to do a decent job you want one of these:

http://www.pro-iroda.com/MJ600.htm

or

http://www.pro-iroda.com/MJ950.htm

They come with a heat reflector that heats the heatshrink uniformly.

paulstung · 30 May 2013 at 11:49

You can buy cheap windproof lighters for about £1.50, and to solve the blackening issue use tin foil between the flame, and shrink. we used to use this method for rc cars when I was a kid.

wp-t31os · 30 May 2013 at 13:05

Popped into Homebase today, they had more models available in the store near us.

£21.99 for an Earlex model(includes 2 nozzles, one being a reducer)
£29.99 for a Black and Decker model, several attachments included(one is a reducer)

There are also two other models above those at £39.99 and £49.99 respectively.

Purchased myself the B&D model as family members may later make use of the scraper and various other attachments(heck i might to).

Considering it an investment as i'll be braiding numerous PCs if i can get a firm grasp on braiding to a high standard(ie. so it actually looks pretty and not tacky - much like how my first attempt went).

paulstung said:
solve the blackening issue use tin foil between the flame, and shrink. we used to use this method for rc cars when I was a kid.

That's a really handy tip..